Nike International Junior Tournament in Paris: Top ProspectsMay 17, 2010Croatian Armin Mazic started the tournament looking a bit overwhelmed, but he picked things up significantly as the weekend moved on and clearly showed that he has quite a bit to offer in terms of pure talent.

A big combo guard standing somewhere around 6-6, with a decent frame, Mazic is a smooth, fluid athlete with nice change of speed ability and a good feel for the game. Mazic is a strong ball handler for his size. He looked comfortable creating shots, and he is capable of playing the pick-and-roll and finding teammates off the dribble. The fact that he strung together just one assist--compared to 10 turnovers--in Paris tells you how far he has to go in this area though.

Offensively, Mazic is capable of making shots from the perimeter (even executing some impressive pull-up jumpers from time to time), but he often looks unbalanced and he seems to release the ball in a different way every time, leading to inconsistent results. The fact that he can get his shot off in different ways is impressive, though, as long as he continues to hone this skill accordingly down the road.

Defensively, Mazic is too young and inexperienced to know how to take advantage of his physical tools. He appears to lack a degree of toughness as well.

In general, Mazic is an inconsistent player who is far from being a finished product at this point. He doesn't appear to be the most stable guy, based off what we saw in Paris. His attitude and body language leave something to be desired--something he'll definitely have to improve on if he is to reach his full potential down the road. [Read Full Article]